The sweet romance in Shriman Prirhviraj or the tale of women’s empowerment told through a family drama in Alo, Rabindrasangeet played an important role in most of Tarun Majumdar’s films. He often used songs of Rabindranath Tagore to carry the narrative forward. From the choice of song to their picturisation, Majumdar’s use of Rabindrasangeet remains etched in the hearts of film lovers.
Here are five of Majumdar’s memorable films where Rabindrasangeet was used to great effect.
Dadar Kirti (1980)
The romantic drama based on an unpublished novel by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay had about eight Rabindrasangeet in various situations. Chorono dhorite diyogo amare sung by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay was picturised on Tapas Paul, who made his debut in the film as the shy-but-good-at-heart Kedar. The song marks a crucial point in how Kedar is perceived by the other characters in the film. Bodhu kon alo, sung by Arundhati Hom Chowdhury and picturised as a drama sequence, focused on Kedar’s growing affection for Saraswati, played by Mahua Roychoudhury.
Alo (2003)
Based on Kinnardal by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, this is a family drama revolving around Rituparna Sengupta in the title role. Alo is introduced to the audience with the free-spirited Ha re re re re re song. Other Rabindrasangeet used in the film include Amra nutan joubaneri dut, Pran chay chokshu na chay and Danriye achho tumi amar gaaner opare. Jokhon porbe na mor paayer chinho, towards the end of the film, effectively captured the void that Alo leaves behind.
Sriman Prithviraj (1972)
The cult hit by Tarun Majumdar Sriman Prithviraj starring Ayan Banerjee and Mahua Roy Choudhury was a romantic comedy. The song Shakhi bhabana kahare bole was picturised on Mahua singing and dancing by herself.
Chander Bari (2007)
Majumdar’s Chander Bari is a 20th century family drama based on Pracheta Gupta’s story. The movie starring Rituparna Sengupta, Soumitra Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick and Koel Mallick has several Tagore songs, like Chander hashir bandh bhengechhe, Bhenge mor ghorer chabi and Bandh bhenge dao.
Kancher Swarga (1962)
One of Majumdar’s early movies made under Yatrik has two Tagore songs — Bhengechho duar eshechho and Dinguli mor sonar khanchay roilo, both sung by Dwijen Mukhopadhyay.
